Memoir – Page 6 – …on the B.L.

The Last Black Unicorn

February 27, 2018 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Length: 288
Quick Review: She is hilariously funny and heartbreakingly honest in a memoir about her uphill battles to a little bit of money, fame, stability, and happiness.

I had never heard of Tiffany Haddish until Christmas, which is unsurprising since I live under a rock. She knocked my socks off in Girls Trip. I just had to read her book.

I read The Last Black Unicorn last night in one sitting in under a few hours. She is funny finding the humor in some of the darkest hours of her life. I can completely identify with her sense of humor. She used laughter as a survival and/or defense mechanism. Comedy was her way out of a life that could have ended in a million different ways of bad.

Haddish doesn’t shy away from the dark in her life with a cut and dry style. Her life is filled with concepts and feelings so many struggle to name and describe, but she lays them out in the world. Her childhood was filled with an abusive mom, an absent father, foster care, sexual abuse, physical abuse, homelessness, racism, depression and more. She was able to use her talent for entertaining to gather every experience and hardship and rise above. She succeeded when everything in the world was against her.

I knew she had had a rough childhood. I knew she was a comedian. Most comics write over the bad stuff with a sense of humor. Haddish wrote funny, but she also did not gloss over or try to make things funny that cannot be funny. She embraced the hard.

Haddish writes the way she talks. Her voice is evident throughout the entire novel. It’s hard not to feel a certain camaraderie because she’s talking to you. Allowing you to enter her internal dialogue and love her flaws and quirks and insecurities. She comes off as this confident woman, but under all the self-assuredness, she is still fighting to prove and explain her existence to everyone and herself.

I just want to give her hug. I don’t know if she likes hugs, but she deserves all the hugs.

Memorable Quotes
“Hurting myself made them stop hurting me and care about me.”
“I was eighteen. To survive, I had to quit comedy.”
“I wanted to be in the gang, because I felt like then I’d be a part of something.”
“When you ruin a black man’s shoes, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Title: The Last Black Unicorn
Author: Tiffany Haddish
Publisher: Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster Inc. )
Copyright: 2017
ISBN: 9781501181825

Books

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl

February 25, 2018 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Length: 224
Quick Review: Issa Rae has entered our homes and hearts as the quirky, awkward, lovable, black girl through her YouTube, writing, TV show, and more. Her book makes her even more relatable.

I am behind on the times, so I discovered Issa Rae about four months ago when I binge watched Insecure. I immediately fell in love with her writing, acting, and message. As a self-proclaimed bookworm/nerdy girl, I could completely relate to her bathroom mirror pep talks and internal dialogues. The cover of her book intermittently popped up on my Instagram feed since I started, and after watching her show, I put two and two together. So I ordered her book.

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl is honest. One of the more, honest memoirs. She tells things straight (as straight as personal memories can be). Her sense of humor drenches the novel with gripping laughs. She is self deprecating in the way only someone who is truly comfortable in their awkwardness can be.

Rae pulls you in with her familiarity and wit. The words “black girl” in the title lead me to believe the book would be fairly politically charged. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Rae has her moments of political and cultural commentary, but for the most part she just tells her story, which being a black girl is a central element. Blackness is a central theme throughout her book. She emphasizes the importance of not having a black cookie cutter because one size does not fit all.

At only 200 pages, it is an incredibly quick read definitely worth your time.

P.S. Issa Rae… I LOVE Tootsie Rolls. Like really love Tootsie Rolls. I was the kid that dove for them at parades. Thinking of which, I was the only kid diving for them at parades. I have also dated Asian men. I had never thought of it until you brought it up… but I guess there is a correlation. Which means! Like Asian men, Tootsie Rolls are under-coveted.

Memorable Quotes
“The gamut of “blackness” is so wide.”
“Black women and Asian men are at the bottom of the dating totem pole in the United States.”

Title: The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl
Author: Issa Rae
Publisher: Atria Paperback (Simon & Schuster)
Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 9781476749075

Books, NonFiction

Year of Yes

February 18, 2018 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Length:
Quick Review: Shonda Rhimes owns Thursday night and lives in Shondaland. But she wasn’t happy, so she embarked on a year of saying yes.

Shonda Rhimes grew up in Chicago, graduated from Dartmouth then USC School of Cinematic Arts, and went on to write movies in Hollywood. In 2005, she launched her first show: Grey’s Anatomy. She went on to create several more shows. Today, every show on ABC on Thursday nights she has brought to life.

Rhimes begins her memoir with a disclaimer, which states she is old and a liar. She loves lying. She’s a professional liar. Because… it’s her job! She’s a writer. Playing make believe is her job. No matter how much she loves lying, she’s keeping it real in her memoir. She then has a prologue about the events leading her to her year of yes. Then her book begins.

Rhimes is a successful woman of color in Hollywood, which is still rare. She was unhappy even though she seemed to have everything: a job, money, TV shows, success, power, family, friends, and three beautiful daughters. She decided to spend a year saying yes to the opportunities that came her way. As the year progressed, she began to notice her quality of life changing.

I can personally identify with her childhood as a bookworm and potential, future writer. As a child, she used to shove books down the back of her pants, so she could sneak off and read. When I was little, I couldn’t wait to own a purse. At 10, I bought my first purse; it was big enough to hold a book, and that’s all I ever carried in it. I now carry huge purses because I still bring a book everywhere.

The thing I loved most about Year of Yes, is how real Rhimes kept it. I want to be her friend, quite honestly. She cut the crap. She let people in showing her fragility. She’s a single mom. How does she do it? With help. She is incredibly shy and has stage fright. How did she get over it? She said yes to Jimmy Kimmel.

Year of Yes is her memoir, but I found it so empowering. I don’t want to mom, but her words on motherhood were beyond touching. I wish I could memorize her pseudo-rant because it was perfect. She’s inspiring as a F.O.D. First. Only. Different.

Shonda Rhimes is a remarkable woman with so much ahead of her. An entire generation grew up with her TV shows. I still remember the very first night Grey’s Anatomy aired. She has impacted a shift in television and the way we see the world. She is an inspiration even before reading her book. It’s important for our role models to be something other than perfect. Rhimes tears down the walls of her perfection revealing a woman with faults and imperfections. She’s allowing a whole generation of young women, who look up to her, to be human with bumps in their personalities realize they too can be an F.O.D.

Memorable Quotes
“Sometimes the toilet paper does not win.”
“I am never more sure of myself about a topic than when I have absolutely no experience with it.”
“We’ve all been taught to shame and be shamed.”

Title: Year of Yes; How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person
Author: Shonda Rhimes
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2015
ISBN: 9781476777122

Books

You Can’t Touch My Hair

February 7, 2018 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Length: 285
Quick Review: Robinson writes her funnily serious memoir about comedy, culture, and being a black woman in America.

Phoebe Robinson isn’t afraid of being funny or getting honest about the realities of blackness in America. Within the first five pages, she had me laughing, but then sobered me up by talking about police brutality towards black men and women, the dream of living in a postracial world, and Obama’s optimism sparking resistance if not regression in regards to race.

If you can’t tell by the title You Can’t Touch My Hair and Other Things I Still Have to Explain she talks about black hair. I was blessed with a black roommate my freshman year of college, who explained so many things I, as a white lady, did not understand about black femininity. Black hair is not white hair, not even close. Care, styling, perception, and more is vastly different than white hair. It’s important to understand these differences WITHOUT touching a black girl’s hair. Just don’t.

Miss Robinson is an absolute feminist. I loved reading her opinions. There was one moment of utter worshipping at Miss Robinson’s feet when I read: “But in all seriousness, the infantilization of women perpetuates inequality, and when that is conflated with sex, it’s easier to reduce women to objects and strip them of the power they have over their bodies.” Yesssss. This is such an important concept to understand and have articulated. It is especially true for black women throughout history, but it is true for all women. This statement stopped me.

You Can’t Touch My Hair is honest, funny, sobering, and quick. I couldn’t put it down. Her prose and ability to draw the reader in is fabulous. I can’t wait to watch her career grow especially in these changing times.

Known as @dopequeenpheebs in the Twitter and Insta-sphere, she proves herself a queen in her memoir. Queen of pop culture. I’m about a century behind in pop culture, so I found myself with an open Google page 96.461% of her book. Basically: Thank you Phoebe for helping me learn about the world I live in! Also… Thanks for the thumb carpal tunnel.

Complete sidenote. If for some reason, Phoebe Robinson reads this. I’m from Iowa! You said Bumblefuck, Iowa. There are tons of Bumblefuck places. Iowa is totally underrated. Nebraska (outside of Omaha) is Bumblefuck. Montana, North Dakota. Tons of Bumblefucks!!! My hometown is Ames Iowa. George Washington Carver worked and researched at Iowa State, which is less than ten blocks from my front door just pass the horse stable. He is the reason everyone loves peanut butter.

Memorable Quotes
“why Forever 21’s adult-sized leggings are so small they could double as condoms for sea turtles.”
“I also love that when other people see you on boats, they think your life is literally cunnilingus from unicorns”
“I just kept this reoccurring conversation going in my head throughout my time in high school, hoping that one day, I would go to bed, wake up, and magically do something, anything, different with my life.”
“but black women have their own unique battles, a Molotov cocktail of racism and sexism.”
“I felt like I wasn’t being me but a version of me that was as nonthreatening and inoffensive as possible. But that’s the thing. Being true to oneself shouldn’t be considered threatening.”

Title: You Can’t Touch My Hair; And Other Things I Still Have to Explain
Author: Phoebe Robinson
Publisher: Plume Books (PenguinRandom House)
Copyright: 2016
ISBN: 9780143129202

Books

The Mockingbird Next Door

January 30, 2018 RaeAnna

Read: Yes
Length: 278
Quick Review: Marja Mills is one of the few people who knew Harper Lee intimately. She tells her tale of moving in next door to get to know the aging reclusive author.

Nelle Harper Lee penned one of the greatest American novels: To Kill A Mockingbird. Fame came swiftly to the small town woman. After a few years in the limelight, a Pulitzer Prize, and an Academy Award Winning film, she withdrew from public. She refused interviews and autographs. As the decades passed, she became an enigma.

Marja Mills wandered into Monroeville, Alabama on an assignment for her Chicago newspaper. She knocked on Nelle’s door expecting it to never open or to be sent away. Instead, she met Alice Lee, Nelle’s older sister. What happened in the following minutes would altar Mill’s life and the world’s perspective on a beloved author. Mills met Alice Lee, close family friends no one had access to previously, and eventually Harper Lee. For some reason, Lee liked and trusted Mills from the beginning and allowed her unprecedented access. Over time, their relationship grew from acquaintances to close friends. Mills had health problems, which caused her take time off from her job in Chicago. She used that time to get to know Harper Lee and her life.

I wasn’t expecting the book I read. The title The Mockingbird Next Door made me think it would be about Harper Lee. Instead it was Mills memoir about her time spent with Lee. As wonderful as Mills is, I would love to learn all the secrets of Lee’s life. I did enjoy the book for what it was.

It is evident from the beginning, Mills has a deep affection for the Lee family. Lee never opened up to anyone outside of her close family and friends. There’s the sentiment that Mills can barely contain her excitement she was let into the close circle of friends.

Mills writes authentically. She tells the story of Harper Lee honestly. There is a lot of reverence for the great author, but Mills makes sure the reader knows the humanity of the author.

Memorable Quotes
“Methodist or Baptist, Alabama fan or Auburn. These things mattered. They determined who your people were.”
“And that was something she cares about, deeply: the ability to live her life on her own terms. She answered to nobody.”
“How does anyone live up to the mystique that had grown up around her?”

Title: The Mockingbird Next Door; Life with Harper Lee
Author: Marja Mills
Publisher: The Penguin Press (Penguin Group)
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9781594205194

Books

Food; A Love Story

November 21, 2017 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 340
Quick Review A hilarious memoir through the lens of a man in love… with food. Gaffigan goes to great lengths to describe the depths of his feelings.

I have been a Jim Gaffigan fan for a while. I, however, had not committed to reading his book. Granted, I knew it couldn’t possibly take me terribly long to finish… He isn’t exactly setting himself up to be the next Chaucer.

I finished the book in a grand total of two sittings. It ended up being two because he made me hungry, so I had to go take a food break. This can’t be too shocking, but we both rather enjoy food immensely. After reading his book, I think we could be friends bonding over our love of food and our loving-hatred of our shared Midwestern roots. (We can make fun of the Midwest because we grew up there, you can’t; unless, you’re one of us.)

Gaffigan is relentlessly funny and opinionated. Through his book it is easy to tell the two great loves of his life: his food and his family – which is number one and two I am not sure, though. If you’re familiar with his comedy, you will hear his voice ringing loud and clear through the book. Not that I’m a stalker, but it feels like he is speaking to you. His humor transcends the written word.

I highly enjoyed his innovative map of the United States, or as it will come to be known as “The Jim Gaffigan Food Map.” I particularly identified with his chapter on Seabugland. Have I mentioned, we should be friends.

Nothing that I’m about to say will surprise his fans. He has an affinity for making up conversations, which are equally hilarious and probably better than the truth. From now on, I will be citing these conversations as answers to my friends’ questions as often as possible. I found his use of repetition a bit well… repetitive, but that is his style, and he writes the way he speaks. Though it works in stand up, it is a bit much for a book.

All in all, if you are a lover of food or comedy or both or you have a pulse, you should read his book.

Memorable Quotes
“Anyway, I’m overweight.”
“I for one can think of a thousand thing that taste better than thin.”
“I was from Indiana, which tho many is considered the trailer park of the Midwest”
“I like to think coffee comes from beans; therefore, it’s a vegetable.”
“My heart with all its clogged arteries belongs to bratwurst.”
“There is something profoundly sad about eating cake while you are alone.”

Title: Food; A Love Story
Author: Jim Gaffigan
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (Crown Publishing Group)
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9780804140430